PHOTO: Your blogger’s lousy iPhone photo of St. Albert’s three mayoral candidates – from left to right, Cam MacKay, Malcolm Parker, and Cathy Heron – on the stage at the Arden Theatre last night. ST. ALBERT, Alberta OK, everyone here should at least be able to agree city council in
Continue readingTag: Alberta Politics
Alberta Politics: Alberta appoints new deputy minister of health to replace department’s controversial former top civil servant
PHOTOS: Milton Sussman, Alberta’s new Deputy Minister of Health, as president and CEO of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (Photo: CBC). Below: His controversial predecessor, Carl Amrhein, whose last day of employment with the Alberta Government was Friday (Photo: Government of Alberta). The Alberta government has appointed a new deputy
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Sitting through a three-hour candidates’ forum: painful, but a civic duty just the same
PHOTOS: All or part of 14 of the 25 candidates who took part in the City of St. Albert’s city council candidates’ forum last night. Below: Author Darryl Raymaker and the cover of his just-published book. ST. ALBERT, Alberta What’s worse than sitting through a three-hour city council candidates’ forum
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Nenshi in a tight race while Iveson coasts to victory
Photo: Diana McQueen, Don Iveson, Jim Prentice and Naheed Nenshi sign the Framework Agreement that paved the way for the development of city charters on Oct. 7, 2014 (Photo source: Government of Alberta on Flickr) With six days left until municipal election day in Alberta, the mayors in the province’s
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: New book tells the story of the rise and fall of (Pierre) Trudeaumania in Alberta
There is perhaps no greater myth in Alberta politics than that the National Energy Program, which all Albertans are told to believe brought untold devastation to the oil sector and salted the earth for the federal Liberals in this province for decades to come. Looking beyond the myth, most Albertans
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Municipal politics: If you choose to run with a slate, don’t complain when you’re asked about other members’ views
PHOTOS: St. Albert’s iconic city hall, site of the growing community’s only public library. Image grabbed from Councillor Wes Brodhead’s website. Below: Mayoral candidates Cathy Heron and Cam MacKay (photos grabbed from their campaign materials), and one side of the anti-branch-library leaflet published by a group of six candidates for
Continue readingAlberta Politics: TransCanada pulls the plug on Energy East: the fallout in Alberta will be measurable
PHOTOS: Protesters opposed to the Energy East Pipeline project in Montreal last summer (Photo: Radio Canada). Below: United Conservative Party leadership contender Brian Jean, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Canadian prime ministers Trudeau, Pierre and Justin, and sometime UCP leadership candidate Jeff Callaway. It’s been quite obvious
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: The Energy East Blame Game. Who blames who?
Today’s announcement by the TransCanada Corporation that it would no longer pursue the construction of the Energy East Pipeline from Hardisty, Albert to St. John, New Brunswick triggered a storm of statements, accusations and criticisms from politicians trying to drive their political narratives. Here is a quick look at who is
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Two departures – of an NDP MLA and a UCP leadership candidate – pop up on Alberta’s political radar
PHOTOS: Former NDP MLA Karen McPherson, who has asked to sit as the Independent representative for her Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill riding (Photo: Bob Hawkesworth). Below: Former United Conservative Party leadership candidate Jeff Callaway (Photo: CBC), the port of Churchill, Man. (Photo: churchillpolarbears.com), and Independent MLA Derek Fildebrandt, the UCP’s answer to
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: MLA Karen McPherson bids farewell to the Alberta NDP
Photo: Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill MLA Karen McPherson (right) and Calgary-Northern Hills MLA Jamie Kleinsteuber (left). Source: Facebook There have been a lot of changes on the opposition side of Alberta’s Legislative Assembly this year, but today marked the first time since 2015 that we saw a decline in the number of MLAs
Continue readingAlberta Politics: This is not just what terrorism looks like; it’s what a failed state looks like
PHOTOS: Is Old Glory, as the American flag was once known, now the banner of a failed state? Below: Donald Trump, president of the United States, divider, deceiver and denier in chief, incompetent and seemingly powerless to change anything (Photo: Flickr, Gage Skidmore.) “AT LEAST 58 DEAD AND 500 HURT
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Don’t expect an NDP cold war between Jagmeet Singh’s federal New Democrats and Rachel Notley’s Alberta caucus
PHOTOS: Jagmeet Singh, whose campaign to lead the national New Democratic Party came to a successful conclusion yesterday. (Photo: NDP.ca.) Below: Alberta NDP Leader and Premier Rachel Notley, former Alberta Progressive Conservative premier Alison Redford, and former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith. So, it’s Jagmeet Singh, and decisively. But don’t
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: We will not be divided.
“We will not be divided” was the message delivered by political leaders in Edmonton and Alberta after an apparent terrorist attack that began with the attempted murder of an Edmonton police officer outside a Friday night football game at Commonwealth Stadium. While it is too soon to tell what the longer-term
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Having no potential national leader obviously helpful to Notley Government may be liberating to Alberta New Democrats
PHOTOS: Candidate Niki Ashton, in Edmonton during the 2012 NDP leadership race. (Photo: Olav Rokne.) Below: Charlie Angus, Jagmeet Singh, Guy Caron and the late Jack Layton. (Photos: All from the Wikimedia Commons.) Like a rural highway through northern Alberta, the federal New Democratic Party’s leadership race has seemed long,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Thinking about St. Albert’s aspirants for the mayor’s office: You can elect a candidate, but you can’t make him work
PHOTOS: City Councillor Cathy Heron, who is running for mayor of St. Albert, on the campaign trail. Below: Councillor Cam MacKay, who is also seeking the mayor’s job, fishing in Winnipeg in 2016, a screenshot of a social media post he published, and former councillor Malcolm Parker, the third mayoral
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP leadership candidate Brian Jean utters the R-word – one faux pas too many
PHOTOS: Mr. Jean as he likely appeared yesterday afternoon, perhaps as the obvious impact of his foolish use of words sank in. (Photo: CBC) Below: Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and St. Albert NDP MLA Marie Renaud. It sure sounds like Brian Jean is done. You know, like dinner. Done in
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: You’ll be surprised who is on Elections Alberta’s list of banned candidates
A ruling by Court of Queen’s Bench Justice William Tilleman has lifted a ban imposed on past election candidate Jamie Lall, allowing him to run in the next provincial election if he chooses. Lall was added to a list of individuals who are ineligible to run for provincial office in Alberta because, as a
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Cast of fringe candidates line up to challenge Don Iveson for the mayor’s chair
Photo: Don Iveson (standing centre-right) with mayoral challengers Fahad Mughal, Bob Ligertwood, Don Koziak and Carla Frost (sitting left to right). Photo source: screenshot of CBC online video Any illusions that we could see a mayoral horserace in 2017 were extinguished at yesterday’s lunch-hour mayoral all-candidates forum. Delivering their four
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Blasphemy, Alberta style – former Liberal opposition leader sees clouded future for Alberta and its oil industry
PHOTOS: Kevin Taft, leader of the Opposition Liberal Party in the Alberta Legislature from 2004 to 2008, shortly before his book launch at the University of Alberta last night. Below: Former Edmonton Journal senior editor Sheila Pratt, who shared the stage with Dr. Taft. It was blasphemy, Alberta style! Last
Continue readingAlberta Politics: FOI filings show Councillor Sheena Hughes’ controversial comments didn’t end with her ‘sack of hammers’ remark
PHOTOS: A screenshot taken from the City of St. Albert video of the Feb. 17, 2015, City Council meeting, showing Councillor Sheena Hughes speaking about changes to the School Site Allocation Agreement, which she found unsatisfactory. Below: Councillor Cam MacKay, Councillor Bob Russell, George Cuff, author of the provincial municipal
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